The Final Countdown

I’ll start my journey tomorrow on the Christian festival of Pentecost, from the doors of my home church, St Oswald’s Fulford.

Pentecost is the day when we remember how after Jesus had died, risen and gone to Heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to be in his disciples, so they were empowered to be sent out to preach to the rest of the world.  I’m doing this journey purely for myself, not to preach to anyone, and the Pentecost link is pure coincidence, but the metaphor of being ‘sent out’ still feels very fitting.

My big aim of this trip is to visit my friends Andrew and Laura in China.  I’ve known Andrew since university and he originally comes from Cambridge but in another coincidence, his grandparents were married in St Oswald’s, back in 1947.  I’ll be riding out from Jack and Madge Weighill’s wedding place, all the way to China to meet their grandchildren.

Jack and Madge Weighill’s wedding in Fulford, 1947
Me, Andrew, Laura and soon-to-be-Katie, 2017

The time to departure can now be counted in hours and I’m probably a lot more chilled than I have any right to be.  There’s still a whole bundle of stuff to do, and I didn’t help matters by deciding that I didn’t like my bike and wanted to change it, just before the depart. Here’s my new bike, taking parts of my old bike to the post office for sale. I’ll have to get my packing a bit better than this before I go on tour.

A lot of things are coming to a close right now, and I’m spending most of my days running around tying up loose ends from the years I’ve lived in York. The fear might hit sometime soon but right now, I’m very much looking forward to … well, to looking forward instead of backwards. It’ll be good to get out on the road.

2 thoughts on “The Final Countdown

  1. Defrinitely the right time of life for big travels, Greg. You’ve got loads of experience, but take care anyway. I’m looking forward to reading about it all.

    Love and best wishes

    Peter from Rochdale (via Co Durham!)

  2. Good luck on your fabulous trip Greg.
    Stay safe and enjoy the experience.
    If you do need anything while you’re away then either myself, or anyone at Clifton C.C. will be glad to assist.

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